Frederic Hale Parkhurst Explained

Frederic Hale Parkhurst
Order1:52nd
Office1:Governor of Maine
Term Start1:January 5, 1921
Term End1:January 31, 1921
Predecessor1:Carl E. Milliken
Successor1:Percival Baxter
Office2:Member of the Maine Senate
Term2:1907–1908
Office3:Member of the Maine House of Representatives
Term3:1895–1896
1899–1902
Birth Date:5 November 1864
Birth Place:Bangor, Maine, U.S.
Death Place:Augusta, Maine, U.S.
Party:Republican
Spouse:Marie Jennings Reid
Dorothy Woodman
Profession:Attorney
Businessman
Alma Mater:George Washington University Law School

Frederic Hale Parkhurst (November 5, 1864 – January 31, 1921) was an American politician. He was the 52nd Governor of Maine.

Biography

He graduated from Washington, D.C.'s Columbian Law School (now George Washington University Law School) in 1887 and became an attorney in Bangor. He soon abandoned the law for business, and became partner with his father in a successful leather manufacturing and retail business.

A Republican, he served on the Bangor City Council from 1893 to 1894 and was the council's president in 1894. He was a member of the Maine House of Representatives from 1895 to 1896 and 1899 to 1902. He was a Delegate to the 1900 Republican National Convention. Parkhurst was also a member of the Maine Militia, serving as Commissary General with the rank of colonel from 1901 to 1904.

From 1907 to 1908 Parkhurst was a member of the Maine State Senate, and he was chairman of the Maine Republican Party from 1914 to 1916. In 1920, he defeated incumbent Carl Milliken in Maine's Republican primary for governor.[1] After winning the general election in September, Parkhurst became ill during the period between winning the election and his inauguration. Parkhurst managed to leave his sickbed to take the oath of office, but died of pneumonia just three weeks later. He was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Bangor.

His 26 days as Governor make his term one of the shortest in Maine history; the record belongs to Nathaniel Haskell, who served for 25 hours in 1953. Senate President Percival Proctor Baxter, also a Republican, finished Parkhurst's term in office.

References

Notes and References

  1. http://bridgton.advantage-preservation.com/Viewer/?k=milliken%20parkhurst&i=f&by=1920&bdd=1920&d=01011920-12311920&m=between&fn=the_bridgton_news_usa_maine_bridgton_19200625_english_2&df=1&dt=10